Hungarian budget airline Wizz Air announced on Wednesday that it has applied for a British air operator's licence in order to make its operations ‘Brexit ready’.
Wizz Air said in a statement to the London Stock Exchange that it will establish a British division Wizz Air UK which will be based at Luton Airport, north of the British capital.
Wizz Air UK will begin operations in March 2018, subject to the receipt of an Air Operator's Certificate (AOC) and Operating Licence from the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), it added.
The low-cost carrier, which currently operates 41 routes from Luton, said it will employ more than 100 people in management, pilot and cabin crew roles in Luton by the end of 2018.
‘The UK remains the single biggest travel market in Europe and we are currently the UK's eighth largest operator,’ said Wizz Air Chief Executive Officer Jozsef Varadi.
‘This move is also part of our broader strategy to ensure that our UK operations are Brexit-ready.
In July, British low-cost airline EasyJet established a Vienna-based division to allow it to keep flying across the European Union amid any Brexit fallout.
